Girl of Nightmares: review and giveaway!

“It’s probably going to be blood,” Thomas says in a regretful tone that doesn’t match the devious excitement in his eyes. “It’s almost always about blood.”

If your dead, ghostly girlfriend sacrificed herself for you, you’d hope she’d at least finally be at peace, right? But it turns out poor Anna is still a lost, unmoored soul, and Cas Lowood is still haunted by her face everywhere he goes. In this sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood, which was one of my favorite books from 2011, Cas must find out what’s happened to the girl he loves, all the while uncovering more long-held secrets from his past.

Sequels are always a tricky business, so I breathed a sigh of relief when I found that it was easy to immerse myself in this world again. I love the dark beauty of Kendare Blake’s writing and her macabre humor, and I think most readers who enjoy a bit of levity with their horror will appreciate the way this story is written.

His skin is black as a struck match, cracked and oozing liquid metal heat, like he’s covered by a cooling layer of lava. The eyes stand out bright white. I can’t make out from this distance if they have corneas. God I hope they have corneas. I hate that creepy weird-eye shit.

There are some fantastically spooky scenes, particularly a jumpy one involving a Mrs. Bates-type of moment, and a tension-filled chapter set in the depths of an eerie Suicide Forest similar to this one. I do wish there were more spooky scenes, however, and that we spent more time with Anna. She is such a crazily vengeful, strong-willed spirit that her absence was keenly felt. What can I say, I love wallowing in ghoulish excess! I think I was a bit spoiled after the last book’s non-stop creepfest, but it truly doesn’t mean I enjoyed reading this book any less.

The tone in Girl of Nightmares is a little more serious than its predecessor, but we also get more emotional content as well since Cas is struggling with the loss of his girlfriend. I liked that the vividly imagined world we were introduced to in Anna is expanded here and that the story follows a logical progression, although I’m a little sad that it appears we won’t be seeing more of these characters. I didn’t realize when I started the story that this would be the last book in the series, but this conclusion is exactly what I would have hoped for. It feels…right, and I am very satisfied with the end of Cas and Anna’s story.

If you enjoy dark humor with your YA ghost stories, you’ve probably been salivating after this book as much as I have. But if you haven’t met Anna yet, what are you waiting for? She’s one ghost you really, really don’t want to make angry.

Release Date: Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

This review also appears on GoodReads. An advance copy was provided by the publisher.

Here is Kendare’s doodle in the ARC she sent me:

Nothing could set the tone for this book better, hah.

Win an autographed copy of Girl of Nightmares!

While I wouldn’t give up my doodled copy for all the magical athames in the underworld, we do have an extra autographed ARC to give away to one lucky winner! It features the first design with a bloody red cover, which is slightly different from the final one that matches the colors of the first book a bit more.

All you have to do is fill out the RaffleCopter form below and leave a comment. Since we’ve been hosting so many contests recently (and have so many more to come), this one is limited to U.S. only this time, however–sorry about that, international friends! We’ll have another contest for you soon.

Geeze Louise! I’m the 113th commenter…lucky number 13 (sorta, lol). Oh my gosh. After finishing Anna #1 I was constantly checking Goodreads and Author websites to see when the sequel was coming out. However did I miss that it already happened…Days ago! lol. I’m a bad reader. Plus, is it weird to be simultaneously happy/sad that this is the end to the tale? I always want more but hate to wait for the ending…Thanks for the alert that this one is the end. I probably would have read it expecting #3 and been a bit shocked at the ending…like finding a wall where you expected a cliff ;) Excited to read it!!P.S.I’m coming from http://thelibrarianreads.com OpenId won’t verify me! boo!!, lol

Geeze Louise! I’m the 113th commenter…lucky number 13 (sorta, lol). Oh my gosh. After finishing Anna #1 I was constantly checking Goodreads and Author websites to see when the sequel was coming out. However did I miss that it already happened…Days ago! lol. I’m a bad reader. Plus, is it weird to be simultaneously happy/sad that this is the end to the tale? I always want more but hate to wait for the ending…Thanks for the alert that this one is the end. I probably would have read it expecting #3 and been a bit shocked at the ending…like finding a wall where you expected a cliff ;) Excited to read it!!

I loved Anna Dressed in Blood! It was a male POV – so nice for a change and it was such a great new twist on paranormal YA. The plot was not predictable. I never knew what to expect so it was a really fun read and very well written. I can’t wait to read the sequel!;)

This is the last book in the series? So there’s only 2 books? Wow…I was hoping for more! (even though I haven’t read Anna yet, but I DO believe I’ll LOVE it when I eventually get to it!) Awesomeee review Wendy!<3 I'm so glad you loved this :D

Is Kendare Blake awesome or what? I have Anna and have yet to read it, but I just want to hang out with the author. This sequel looks so good — I saw Steph Sinclair’s review and it rocketed up my “acquire now” lists.

Bwhaha, every time I see that doodle of Kendares I get incredibly happy. I loved the dark humor of Anna Dressed in Blood, and am so looking forward to this sequel. I have high hopes, am looking forward to the creepiness, but am sad to hear there isn’t more Anna. Because I like Anne. I was kind of rooting for her to kill a lot more in book 1…>.>

I know I keep saying this but I am so glad you are back! I enjoyed this one, but I like you wish there were more spooky scenes in this one. This one lacked a bit of that tension that I loved in book one. I did enjoy that there was more of Carmel, Thomas and Morfran. I wish that there was just one more book. Yes, Anna got her happy ending but what about Cas and company? Still a good solid read! Can’t wait to see what Kendare does next!

I just bought this book so I’m not entering your very generous giveaway. But I’m so excited to see you gave it 5 stars! I loved Anna and am thrilled to hear the sequel doesn’t disappoint. That doodle is priceless too :)

I loved Anna! It was such a perfect combination of paranormal and lovely. Cas is such an incredible narrator, and I can’t wait for Girl of Nightmares because of the cliffhanger?! Where did Anna go, and how will Cas find her?

I loved Anna and Cas in the first book and can’t wait to read the sequel soon. It’s a shame there weren’t as many creepy scenes in this as the first book – that was one of my favourite aspects – but I do look forward to finding out what happens next. Another fantastic review, Wendy! :)

For me, everything worked about Anna Dressed in Blood. It scared the crap out of me, and the characters were so well-developed. I was even surprised a bit in some instances, which is very rare for me. I can’t wait to read this!

I absolutely loved Anna Dressed in Blood. It reminded me a lot of Supernatural in a way. I thought all the characters were well written and worked really well together. I can’t wait to read about Cas and Anna in the next book.

Fantastic review! So glad that this one got such a positive review from you, even though it is a tad darker than the first book. I loved Cas as a male narrator in Anna Dressed in Blood, and I also really loved the different colour of the font ^_^ That was just so cool XD

I loved Cas’ voice in Anna Dressed in Blood. He was tough and funny and so believable. His relationship with his mom and with Anna was sweet too. I can’t wait to see more of him, and of course, I’m excited to find out what happened to Anna and to see her again too.

My favorite thing about Anna Dressed in Blood was Cas’ voice! He was tough and funny and totally believable. I also loved his relationship with his mom. Can’t wait to spend more time with him and to see what happened to Anna, who was fantastic as well. :)

To be honest Wendy, I still haven’t read Anna Dressed in Blood >.< I was afraid that reading your review would contain spoilers, but I should have known better, you always have a way with making sure you describe a book without having to use any kind of spoilers :) Looking forward to these books, hopping over to my local B&N soon to buy the first one! :D Lol
Neyra-

WENDY!!!! I’m so happy you love Anna just as much as I do. She’s one hell of a ghost, and I just love her character so much. She’s vengeful and angry, at times, but her heart (if she has one???) is definitely in the right place. And I adore Cas to death (hehe get it? :P) so I really hope they get together in the end. Do they?? Wait don’t tell me! LOL Sorry. :’) LOVELY, smart-ass review, Wendy-doll! I can’t wait to read GoNM even more now! Although I really don’t want Kendare’s amazing series to come to an end.

I already have a copy of the first book but haven’t got around to read it yet. I’ve heard awesome reviews about Anna Dressed in Blood and now your review of the sequel makes me want to read it more! I expect a lot of killing and blood. And it has to be scary. :D

I liked that it was written in a male POV. There aren’t enough books written from a boy’s perspective! This is the first real “horror” book that I ever read and loved. I’m dying for book two and seeing Anna again!

thanks so much for hosting this giveaway! I really want to read this sequel because I want to know how they get back in contact with Anna. Didn’t she go to hell or something like that? How does she break away from that evil strong power? These are just a few of the questions I would like some answers to!

Damnit, Wendy, I’d promised myself I wouldn’t get into this creepy shizz. I’m too much of a scaredy cat to handle it. But, you’ve managed to convince me to read this book where others have not. I honestly think it was that quote and the way you reacted to it that did me in.

I’m not sure if I’ll thank you for keeping me up at night, but we’ll see. ;)

One of elements I like the most in the Anna Dressed in Blood series is the male narrator who is not perfect. He’s a little douchey! I mean who wouldn’t feel a little badass after chasing ghosts all over the country.

I hate it when wordpress logs me out! Anyway, second time trying to comment. I loved Anna dressed in blood so much and it really surprised me. Ghost stories freak me out and I really don’t like horror all that much. But Anna was so much more than that. I am very much looking forward to reading Girl of Nightmares!

I so absolutely loved, loved, loved Anna Dressed in Blood. Did I mention that I loved it? Because I did. Kendare Blake’s writing style was so fantastic and she sucked me in. Here’s the thing. Ghost stories creep me out so I was a little worried about how I was going to react. But it wasn’t just a ghost story or a horror story or a teen story. It was unbelievable and I recommended it to many. Was I thrilled to know there was a sequel.

Even though I wasn’t completely overwhelmed by the first book, I keep thinking about it and am thinking of rereading ADiB and am really interested to see where the story takes off from where it left off.

Even though I wasn’t completely overwhelmed by the first book, I keep thinking about it and am thinking of rereading ADiB and am really interested to see where the story takes off from where it left off. Besides the creepy scenes were really well done.

Thank you so much Wendy for this giveaway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely loved Anna because it had real, scary and dangerous ghost, funny lines and fantastic characters!I’m so sad to hear that this book is the finale, but at least its a grand one!!!!! Wonderful review and thanks for the excerpts!!!!!! I also love the “dark beauty” of Blake’s writing. Thanks again!Rachel

I love that these books are told from the POV of Cas, who is all snark and dead-pan honesty. And I love that Cas helps Anna overcome the trauma of her ghostliness and actually falls for her while doing it. I love that Anna gave me nightmares for DAYS. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like Anna.